Scott’s Omens of Adversity is primarily interested in the collapse of the Grenada Revolution (1979–1983) and the repercussions of that tragedy. Scott examines texts and phenomena germane to the Revolution to investigate issues of political action, memory, justice, and forgiveness. Using the Hegelian theory of tragic action, he describes the Revolution’s collapse as a tragic collision of two substantive positions, “neither of them altogether unjustified but each pursued with a heedless and mutually reinforcing blindness to the validity of the other” (38). The major players’ blindness helps to explain each faction’s claim to an exclusive legitimacy or intelligibility as the denouement approached.
Issues of memory and mourning among generations of Grenadians are addressed in the reaction to the disposal of the remains of Maurice Rupert Bishop—prime minister of Grenada and commander in chief of the Revolutionary Armed Forces. According to Scott, the disappearance of Bishop’s remains disabled any prospect of...